"We liberated Palmyra before, we will liberate it once again. This is war, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," the Syrian president noted. "But we must keep in mind that the focus should be on Aleppo at the moment."

The Islamic State attacked Palmyra, located 240 kilometers from Damascus, on December 9. The terrorists attempted to seize oil wells and a military airfield on the outskirts of the city. On Sunday night, Syrian troops were reported to have retreated from the central part of the city.

The Syrian army, supported by the Russian Aerospace Force, had liberated Palmyra from the IS terrorists on March 27, 2016. After that, Russian sappers took part in demining the city, particularly its ancient monuments.